He was assembled, and every ruler of the seats, serving the commands of the mighty emperor and bringing pleasing gifts to Christ the King, with suppliant mouths uttered God-fearing hymns, lighting a white candle with well-wrought hands. And a priest followed, and led the sacred dance, a much-hymned priest, whom the Ausonian scepter-bearer found worthy of the temple; and the broad-streeted path of all Rome was thronged. And coming to the divine courts, all the people shouted in gratitude, and seemed to set their feet upon the immaculate vaults of heaven. Open for me the key, you God-fearing ones, open, O initiates, and open the divine palace to our words, and bring forth a prayer in your speech; for it is necessary for those touching the starting-line to stretch their gaze toward you.

Three semicircles of the eastern spaces are spread open; and on high, along the upright neck of the walls, the fourth part of a sphere cut in four climbs up, just as a peacock raises its form with many-eyed wings above its three-crested head, high on its back. Wise men in their skillful speech have called these tops 'conches'; but as to the truth, whether the skilled call them so from the sea-shell or from their art, they themselves I suppose have learned. And the middle part is encircled by the seats for the initiates and the surrounding tiers. And one part of them, gathering together, draws them in closer to the center upon the ground, under the lowest edge; but as much as rises from on high, they widen the distance little by little up to the silver thrones, and with ever-increasing circles they wind round the ever-advancing curve. Next after this comes a straight-lined base fitted with strong foundations, and above is a circular vault, in shape not like a sphere, but like a cylinder cut in two. And it puts forth two other well-pillared conches on both sides, reaching toward the west, as if stretching out curving arms, so that it might embrace the much-hymning people in its halls. And these, with their golden capitals, are made light by columns spotted with porphyry flowers glittering all around on the semicircular curve of the circle, supporting an enormous weight, columns that the well-greaved cliffs of Nilotic Thebes once quarried. On two columns here and there the bases of both arches are raised; and skilled men have wound smaller, incomplete arches in three parts under the tracks of the conch, beneath whose edge columns have set their capitals bound with bronze, carved, wrought of gold, distracting the mind. And upon the porphyry columns are other columns, splendid blossoms of green-faced Thessalian stone; there [you] will perceive the beautiful upper galleries for the women. And they bear the [whole for]m that can be seen from below; and it gleams under six [under Th]essalian and not two columns. And it is a thing to amaze the mind of man, that one once dared to fix thrice two columns upon two, and did not tremble to fix a base in the empty air. And the man fenced all the spaces between the Thessalian columns with stone parapets, where women, leaning, have rested their weary elbows. Thus stretching your gaze upon the eastern vaults you will see a wonder ever-revolving. But above all of them springs up a many-circled roof, like another arch borne through the air, widening its curve hollowed in the air, and it rushes up to the top, up to the deep-legged vault, on whose back the immortal crown of the central house has fixed its foundations. Thus the deep-bosomed conch rushes up into the air, rising from above as one, but standing below upon three bays; and being cut through its back, it opens five-part receptacles for light, covered with thin panes of glass, through the midst of which the rosy-ankled dawn, brightly gleaming, comes.

When the audience was again divided, the following verses were recited. If I were often attempting to call you together to another spectacle, someone might

reasonably have considered this an annoyance; but as it is, I know well that running again to the great church you all love the hearing as much as the sight. Therefore I will pay down the remainder of the debt. One will perceive everything on the western side to be equal to the eastern forms, with few exceptions.

συναγείρετο, πᾶς τε θοώκων ἀρχός, ὑποδρήσσων σθεναροῦ βασιλῆος ἐφετμαῖς καὶ Χριστῶι βασιλῆϊ χαρίσια δῶρα κομίζων, ἱκεσίοις στομάτεσσι θεουδέας ἤπυεν ὕμνους, ἄργυφον εὐκαμάτοις ὑπὸ χείρεσι κηρὸν ἀνάπτων. ἕσπετο δ' ἀρητήρ, ἱερῆς δ' ἐξῆρχε χορείης, ἀρητὴρ πολύυμνος, ὃν ἄξιον εὕρετο νηοῦ Αὐσονίων σκηπτοῦχος· ὅλης δ' ἐστείνετο Ῥώμης ἀτραπὸς εὐρυάγυια. μολὼν δ' ἐπὶ θέσπιδας αὐλὰς δῆμος ἅπας ἐπέβωσε χαρίσιον, οὐρανίας δὲ ἀχράντους ἐδόκησεν ἐς ἄντυγας ἴχνια θέσθαι. Οἴξατέ μοι κληῗδα θεουδέες, οἴξατε, μύσται, οἴξατε δ' ἡμετέροισιν ἀνάκτορα θέσκελα μύθοις, εὐχωλὴν δ' ἐπέεσσι κομίσσατε· καὶ γὰρ ἀνάγκη ἁπτομένους βαλβῖδος ἐς ὑμέας ὄμμα τανύσσαι.

Τρισσὰ μὲν ἀντολικῶν ἀναπέπταται ἔνδια κύκλων ἡμιτόμων· ὑψοῦ δὲ μετ' ὄρθιον αὐχένα τοίχων σφαίρης τετρατόμοιο λάχος τὸ τέταρτον ἀνέρπει, οἷον ὑπὲρ τριλόφοιο καρήατος, ὑψόθι νώτων, σχῆμα πολυγλήνοισι ταὼς πτερύγεσσιν ἐγείρει. κόγχας ταῦτα κάρηνα σοφοὶ τεχνήμονι μύθωι ἀνέρες ηὐδάξαντο· τὸ δ' ἀτρεκές, εἴτ' ἀπὸ κόγχου εἰναλίου καλέουσι δαήμονες εἴτ' ἀπὸ τέχνης, αὐτοί που δεδάασι. μέση δ' ἐζώσατο θώκους μυστιπόλους καὶ βάθρα περίδρομα. καὶ τὸ μὲν αὐτῶν ὑστατίην ὑπὸ πέζαν ἀολλίζουσα συνέλκει ἐγγύτερον περὶ κέντρον ἐπὶ χθονός· ὅσσα δ' ἀνίσχει ὑψόθεν, εὐρύνουσι διάστασιν ἄχρι θοώκων ἀργυρέων κατὰ βαιόν, ἀεξομένοισι δὲ κύκλοις αἰὲν ἐπεμβαίνουσαν ἐπειλίσσουσι κεραίην. Τὴν δὲ μετεκδέχεται κρατεροῖς ἀραρυῖα θεμείλοις ἐς βάσιν εὐθύγραμμος ὕπερθε δὲ κύκλιος ἄντυξ, σχήμασιν οὐ σφαίρης ἐναλίγκιος, ἀλλὰ κυλίνδρου ἄνδιχα τεμνομένοιο. δύω δ' εὐκίονας ἄλλας κόγχας ἀμφοτέρωθι προβάλλεται ἐς δύσιν ἕρπειν, οἷάπερ ἐκτανύουσα περιγναμφθέντας ἀγοστούς, λαὸν ὅπως πολύυμνον ἑοῖς ἀγκάσσεται οἴκοις. καὶ τὰς μὲν χρυσέοισιν ἐλαφρίζουσι καρήνοις στικτοὶ πορφυρέοισιν ἀποστίλβοντες ἀώτοις κίονες, ἡμιτμῆγι περισταδὸν ἄντυγι κύκλου, ἄχθος ἀερτάζοντες ὑπέρβιον, οὕς ποτε Θήβης Νειλώιης ἐλόχευσαν ἐϋκνήμιδες ἐρίπναι. κίοσι μὲν δοιοῖσιν ἀείρεται ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα ἀμφοτέρης ἁψῖδος ἐδέθλια· τριχθαδίας δὲ ἡμιτελεῖς ἁψῖδας ὀλίζονας ἴχνεσι κόγχης ἄνδρες ὑπειλίξαντο δαήμονες, ὧν ὑπὸ πέζαν κίονες ἱδρύσαντο καρήατα δέσμια χαλκῶι, γλυπτά, χρυσεότευκτα, παραπλάζοντα μερίμνας. εἰσὶ δὲ πορφυρέαις ἐπὶ κίοσι κίονες ἄλλαι, ἀγλαὰ Θεσσαλικῆς χλοερώπιδος ἄνθεα πέτρης· ἔνθα [σὺ] θηλυτέρων ὑπερώϊα καλὰ νοήσεις. σχῆ[μα δ' ὅ]λον φορέουσιν, ὃ νειόθεν ἔστιν ἰδέσθαι· ἓξ δ' [ὑπὸ Θ]εσσαλικοῖσι καὶ οὐ δύο κίοσι λάμπει. ἔστι δὲ θαμβῆσαι νόον ἀνέρος, ὅς ποτε δοιαῖς πήξατο θαρσαλέως ἐπὶ κίοσι τρισσάκι δοιάς, οὐδὲ βάσιν κενεοῖο κατ' ἠέρος ἔτρεσε πῆξαι. πάντα δὲ Θεσσαλικοῖο μεταίχμια κίονος ἀνὴρ λαϊνέοις ἔφραξεν ἐρείσμασιν, ἔνθα κλιθεῖσαι ἐργοπόνους ἀγκῶνας ἐπηρείσαντο γυναῖκες. Οὕτως ἀντολικὰς μὲν ἐπ' ἄντυγας ὄμμα τανύσσας θάμβος ἀειδίνητον ἐσόψεαι. ἀλλ' ἐπὶ πάσαις ἐκφύεται πολύκυκλον ὑπὲρ σκέπας οἷά τις ἄλλη ἁψὶς ἠερόφοιτος, ἀνευρύνουσα κεραίην ἠέρι κολπωθεῖσαν, ἀίσσει δ' ἄχρι καρήνου ἄχρι βαθυκνήμοιο καὶ ἄντυγος, ἧς κατὰ νῶτον πυθμένας ἐρρίζωσε μέσου κόρυς ἄμβροτος οἴκου. ὣς ἡ μὲν βαθύκολπος ἀνέσσυται ἠέρι κόγχη, ὑψόθεν ἀντέλλουσα μία, τρισσοῖσι δὲ κόλποις νέρθεν ἐπεμβεβαυῖα· διατμηγεῖσα δὲ νώτοις πένταχα μοιρηθέντα δοχήϊα φωτὸς ἀνοίγει, λεπταλέαις ὑάλοις κεκαλυμμένα, τῶν διὰ μέσσης φαιδρὸν ἀπαστράπτουσα ῥοδόσφυρος ἔρχται ἠώς.

∆ιαιρεθείσης πάλιν τῆς ἀκροάσεως προελέχθησαν οἱ ὑποκείμενοι στίχοι. Εἰ μὲν πρὸς ἄλλο θέατρον ὑμᾶς συγκαλεῖν συχνῶς ἐπεχείρουν, ὄχλον ἄν τις

εἰκότως ἡγήσατο τοῦτο· νῦν γε μὴν εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι πρὸς τὸν νεὼν δραμόντες αὖθις τὸν μέγαν ἐρᾶτε πάντες τῆς ἀκοῆς ὡς τῆς θέας. οὐκοῦν τὸ λοιπὸν προσκαταθήσω τοῦ χρέους. Πάντα καὶ ἑσπερίην τις ἐπὶ κλίσιν ἶσα νοήσει σχήμασιν ἠώιοις, ὀλίγων ἄτερ.